Challenge and delight — February 2, 2016

Whew! We are in our new apartment! Still waiting on things like the internet, curtains, carpets, water dispenser, cable, etc. … ALL promised days ago…oh well, our new mantra is simply “this is India”. We’ve found nothing happens quickly, I’ll be glad when I’m no longer waiting for someone/thing to show up for delivery/installation.

My feature photo this post is of the local market I shop at. It’s the red building in the distance. I can walk out of the apartment’s back gate and it’s not even a block away. A perfect little daily outing for me to go pick up whatever bits of food I might be looking for. There’s a larger market to do any serious shopping at, but I would need to be driven there. This suits me just fine. If you look closely, you’ll see a “free-range” water buffalo “grazing” (picking through what looks to be trash) on the right side of the street too…)

This other photo I’ve chosen to share, is of Paul buying some local beer this weekend (see his back, as he’s leaning into the counter). I’m waiting in the car taking the photo — feeling like it’s probably not a good place for me to be out and about…I’m learning to clip my wings a bit and not draw attention, as best I can for a Caucasian female in India (not easy for a fiery Sagittarius either!). All part of my evolving yogic experience…yes, there’s always more …

As you might have noticed this is my first attempt at a blog. I’m really not sure what the appropriate protocol is for dialog with comments in a post. I do know, I just LOVE getting comments!! It makes me feel connected … so here are my responses to your questions:

How long will you be there? …. 1-2 years, depending on how the project goes that Paul is overseeing the India team to deliver on — if it goes well, on time, in budget, etc. The US based company will likely award the India company more projects…we’ll see.

Is there a support group that you can meet people or other couples going through the same? …. we’re told there is an “ex-pat” organization, but honestly — Paul and I have a running joke, that we will go up and introduce ourselves, if we see one! The only non-Indian people we have seen are in the Westin, and they are mostly just here for a week or two on business. I guess Bangalore is much different than Hyderabad — more westerners have live there over the years as ex-pats.

Is the picture of your apartment building or out of your window? …. that picture was taken from the Westin’s 25th floor — overlooking our apartment building (orange/off-white)

What floor are you on? …. we’re on the 6th, of 10 floors. There’s a lift, but Paul and I have made a pact to walk the stairs at least once a day for the exercise. The stairs remind us of when we rented a flat in Florence and walked up many flights each day — we felt it was so good for hearts to get them pumping practically out of our chest. Paul’s trainer would be so proud of him…

Do you have hot water in the shower? … funny story here, the day we moved in — that evening I was so looking forward to a shower before bed… no hot water! Oh man, that was shocking. Well it turns out, there was a switch that needed to be on — just outside the bathroom. This place has so many switches you wouldn’t believe it! There’s even a switch for each outlet. So, I’ve been going around and putting a little piece of yellow electrical tape on each one and writing what it goes to … (outlets, lights, fans, hot water, TV connections, etc. ) and to top it off — many rooms have the same switches by the beds, as in the entry. All very handy once you’ve figure it out!

Are the appliances American or funny little Chinese models? They are mostly funny little Korea or India models, all very customized for the India market. We just bought a Samsung microwave that has buttons that say “India’s Best”, “Tikka Series”, etc. Our refrigerator — not only has a very cool design — but, it also has a keyed lock on it!

I plan to send updated pictures of the apartment once I get it more set up and homey. It really has lots of cool design features, like shadow boxed lighting in the 11 foot ceilings, Italian marble tile floors, oversize doors and hardware. This past weekend, I was talking with the owner — he’s very proud of it and was telling me that because labor is so cheap they can afford such time consuming and costly details. Details like that would be really super costly in the US.

Last week our big SUCCESS was getting local mobile phones. It took 3 or more trips back to the Airtel shop to succeed — but we did it! Issues were things like — not having the right “stamps” or signatures on the paperwork, photos were the wrong size, and so forth…it seems ALL processes are very bureaucratic here (perhaps the British’s influence?).

Our biggest FAILURE last week was naively trying to register as foreigners. What an ordeal! We spent days gathering all the paperwork based on website’s “check list” in an attempted to get it right (especially after our experience with Airtel). The day starts off with yet another new driver (I’ve lost count — apparently Paul’s host company has been “negotiating”, on our behalf behind the scenes — hence the multiple drivers. We get in, and of course it’s impossible to communicate, Paul had to put the address in our new phone and get Google GPS navigation going, to show him where we needed to go. SO we’re in choking traffic for 45 minutes going to “old city Hyderabad”, the pollution was so bad I could taste metal on my tongue — and we were in a car with the windows up! We get out, dazed and confused — head into the government building. Well to say the least, the first counter we went to did not like our paperwork and sent us to another room to get “the check list” — A DIFFERENT CHECK LIST than the one on the website. ALL a very bad experience. We’re driving back, I’m taking shallow breaths trying not to take in more toxins than necessary– and thinking, this is hell on earth… (a little different from my last post, no? … I know, just breathe…)

Now mind you, we cannot get a local Citibank account — until we are registered with the government. We can only get money from the cash machine at the Westin — limited to 10,000.00 INR a day (about 150.00 USD) … we need more, as many of the apartment set-up vendors are wanting cash…ALL very challenging.

SO we now have a local person, who is helping to prepare us, for a second attempt — and will accompany us back to the government’s Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO) later this week. Please light a candle for this to go well…

On a more positive note, we been enjoying our new neighborhood. As I mention, love the daily local market experience. Here’s a little video of the very short walk from the Westin to our apartment — so you can get a feel for the energy of the location. It’s a crazy busy intersection (especially during rush hours)– and right in the middle of things, there’s a “street food” outside market — if you use your imagination — sort of an Indian style Faneuil Hall bustling with activity day and night (only MUCH more gritty). Not anything our stomachs could handle just yet, but the local crowd seems to love it!

This place is so alive, it continues to challenge and delight us.

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10 thoughts on “Challenge and delight — February 2, 2016”

Monicasays:

Well for not knowing how blogs work, you sure are doing an excellent job Doris!
Thanks for answering all the questions we all had.
Can’t wait to see the pics of your apartment. It sounds lovely.
Got a laugh at the water buffalo in the trash. That must have been a sight.
The video is great! There is so much going on. It reminds me a little of the streets of Jamaica.
Just curious about the sound on the video? It sounded like an elephant.

This traffic seems dizzying. You have to have eyes and ears open in all directions. By the time you get back, Boston traffic will seem lame. 😉
Good thing you can walk to the market though without having to be driven.

Maybe the “elephant” sounds are from people warning others that they will not stop or deviate from their path come what may. But Doris can explain.

My Indian friend told me that the shower water is never heated. She said you would not want it heated water because you want to cool off. You are lucky you found that switch!

Love the blog and the video and that you are sharing your experience. Makes it all very real.

Well, its great that you have delights to offset the challenges. Is the bad air only in old city Hyderabad? The air where your apartment is located seems to be OK as you said you are enjoying neighborhood. Can’t wait to hear how your next visit to the FRRO goes – successful we hope – fingers are crossed.. How far is Paul’s office? Can he walk it or would he want to in the high heat? Your video does give a real good feel for the neighborhood vibe. So now we are following two blogs, yours and Jon & Kait’s – they seem to be doing very well indeed!. Stay well and be happy. – Vinny & Diane

This is so amazing. I feel that I’m there with you and Paul. He sounded excited but tired on the phone. It was great to hear from him. Doris, you are something else.
The strength you have to keep this altogether is so wonderful. I loved the picture of Paul reaching into the counter for the beer. Paul how was it? I’m looking forward to reading more of this.